Audio Video News

Ever heard of the Rhapsody-powered Best Buy Digital Music Store? Neither had I. That's probably why Best Buy is buying Napster.

The $121 million all-cash deal may not put iTunes out of business but it will make Best Buy a tougher competitor in online music retailing. Napster brings to the table 700,000 subscribers, a slick web-based customer service platform, and what the press release describes as "innovative mobile capabilities." An analyst quoted by the Associated Press said Best Buy "has been making headway into selling mobile handsets recently" along with sales of music to mobile customers using its existing Rhapsody-powered store.

Napster has come a long way since it put file sharing on the map. Shawn Fanning's dorm-bred brainchild may no longer be the biggest free music library on earth, but the brand has survived for a surprisingly long time as a legal download service. Now, will Best Buy keep the name?